Ethiopian court gives 18 years to a father who raped his daughter

The court also sentences man committing homosexual act against a minor Hussein Reshid, 58, a man found guilty of raping his own 12-year-old daughter, was given 18 years of rigorous imprisonment by the Seventh Criminal Bench of the Federal First Instance Court on Tuesday. The court also gave seven years of rigorous imprisonment on Wednesday to Mesfin Dagne, 23, who was found guilty of committing a homosexual act against a 13-year-old minor. Hussein was charged by the federal prosecutors on two counts of sexual outrage and incest in July 2010. He raped his daughter on September 20, 2009 at his home in Arada sub-City, at a place known as Datsun Sefer, the first count of the charge read. According to the judgment given on Tuesday, prosecutor’s witnesses testified that Hussein slept with his 12-year-old daughter for almost a year while her mother was abroad. Accordingly, he committed rape and incest, the sentence read. According to the guilty verdict the prosecutor’s first witness who is the mother of the child testified that victim told her that Hussein repeatedly raped her while her mother was abroad. Prosecutor’s second and third witnesses who work at the women’s affairs office testified to the court that the victim told them that her father her father repeatedly rapes her after she was brought to their office by the police, the verdict read. The court gave the guilty verdict last month after hearing witnesses from both sides. According to the verdict, Hussein pleaded not guilty to all of the charges and produced his son as a witness. Hussein produced a document to prove an alibi stating that he was at his father’s mourning on the day of the crime that his son testified that he knew that his father went for the mourning but was not sure on which day he did so, the verdict read. Accordingly, the court gave the guilty verdict stating that there was inconsistency in the witness’s testimony and the alibi did not prove that he was not raping his daughter for almost a year as testified by prosecutor’s witnesses. The Federal prosecutors presented aggravating circumstances requesting the court to give a heavier penalty because Hussein was an irresponsible father since he raped his own daughter after winning her confidence and because he committed a concurrent crime, the verdict read. Hussein requested the court to give a lighter penalty because he was illiterate, didn’t have any prior criminal record and that he was the sole provider for his seven children, the verdict read. The court, presided over by Judge Tsehay Menker, gave Hussein 16 years and four months of rigorous imprisonment for the first count which is sexual outrage on infants and one year and eight months for the second count which is incest, the verdict read. According to the law of the land, the fist count on which Hussein was found guilty was punishable by from 15 to 25 years while the second count was punishable with simple imprisonment not exceeding six months. The other defendant to which the court gave an imprisonment sentence on Wednesday was Mesfin Dagne, 23, who was charged by Federal prosecutors back in July for committing a homosexual act against a 13-year-old minor. Mesfin raped the minor in October 2009 in Gulele sub-City in a place locally known as Kidanemihret Chaka, the charge read. Since Mesfin pleaded guilty, the court did not entertain any of prosecutor’s witnesses. The prosecutors presented their aggravating circumstances by stating that Mesfin’s act showed his bad behavior, requesting the court to give a heavier penalty. The prosecutors also presented a request for heavier penalty because Mesfin’s act made the victim to make the same act on his siblings in which he is being tried in the Juvenile Bench. Mesfin also requested the court to give a lighter penalty by stating that he regretted the act, he had no prior criminal record and that he was the sole provider of his family, the sentence read. According to the criminal law of the country the offence for which Mesfin was found guilty was punishable by from three to 15 years.

Ethiopian court gives 18 years to a father who raped his daughter thereporterethiopia.com Mon, Aug 8, 2011